This Home of Ours
by lovelystarz
Summary: For ATF Agent Ava Murphy, life hadn't been easy growing up in the system. Graceland was the only place that was home to her. It was also the longest place that Ava had lived in long enough to call home. The people in this house were more than just fellow federal agents to Ava, they were her family and she would do anything to protect them and Graceland.
1. Chapter 1

It was barely after 8 in the morning but already Ava Murphy could feel the heat of the sun on her back, clearly it was going to be another beautiful day in California which made Ava grateful for the sunglasses that were currently covering her eyes as she continued to slowly walk home. Right now Ava felt like a vampire, as in the sun was currently her enemy as it literally burned her eyes if she didn't have the dark lenses protecting her eyes from the sun. Today the Californian weather was not her friend and Ava couldn't even remember the sun even rising as it had been an incredibly long night and all Ava wanted to do was get home already so she could crawl into her bed and sleep for at least eight hours without any interruptions of any kind. Over the last 26 hours Ava had consumed so much coffee that she was probably going to have to go on a detox because of it. Ava also knew sleep would be a bit of a problem especially since she had her last cup of coffee just over an hour ago but she wouldn't be standing right now if it wasn't for the coffee as she was pretty much dead on her feet. As she walked Ava was grateful that had espadrilles on instead of hells as there was no way she would be to walk home if she had heels on given the lack of sleep and the conspicuous amount of coffee. Not to mention she had been on her feet the majority of the time so her feet were killing her. Ava knew she probably would have been at home and curled up in her bed if she had taken up her bosses offer of having a lift home but Ava was an undercover agent. The last thing Ava needed was a black SUV that screamed federal agency to drop her home and burn Graceland. Ava had chosen to take a long approach, which involved walking for five minutes after she had left ATF's field office before taking a cab and having it drop her a block away from Graceland. Ava was partially regretting that decision as her body felt incredibly heavy at the moment like she had gained fifty pounds in the last day. As she slowly dragged her ass home, Ava wondered how she was going to get herself up the flights of stairs to her bedroom.

Eventually Ava finally made it back to Graceland after digging around in her purse for her house keys, Ava let herself into the one place that she had been in long enough for her to call it home. As soon as Ava entered she could hear the sound of her fellow agents from the kitchen, no doubt they were all up and getting ready for the start of another day where as Ava had just finished a very long day. Ava wanted to head straight up to her bedroom to catch up on some well needed sleep but the polite thing to do was to go over and say hi to her roommates and let them know that she was back and alive for the most part after giving them radio silence for the last five days. Taking a deep breath Ava headed into the kitchen with a bright smile on her face as she needed to keep up appearances as they were used to happy, bright and shiny Ava and not the gloomy and tired Ava who no doubt resembled the grim reapers mother.

"Good morning everyone!" Ava began warmly greeting her roommates and fellow federal agents as she removed her sunglasses, there was no sign of Jakes which was nothing new to Ava as he always tended to be gone before Ava was out of bed. There was no sign of Lauren or Paige but there was Ava's two favorite G-Men and G-Woman; Briggs, Johnny and Charlie along with some guy with brown hair and blue eyes who Ava had never seen before.

"Well if it isn't Agent Murphy? Welcome home Cammie." Briggs greeted as he came over and hugged Ava briefly with a smile on his face and once they were done, Ava made her way to the kitchen island where she high fived Charlie and Johnny.

"You get your guy?" Charlie asked and Ava flashed her a bright grin.

"Of course I did and about time, longest two months of my life and do not get me started on the debriefing. Six hours in a chair being quizzed by a paper pushing agent in a suit whose never been out in the field, over my every action during the course of this investigation. Not the most fun I've ever had but it's finally over." Ava replied with a small yawn before turning her attention over to the other guy in the room, she had no idea who the guy was but he was clearly one of them if Briggs openly called her Agent Murphy in front of this guy. "So whose the stooge?"

"Mike Warren, FBI." Mike began holding his hand out and Ava frowned as she looked at his hand and Briggs have her a look, which told Ava to ignore the formalities. Before Ava had come home to Graceland, she had been briefed that because of the shooting and the fact that the Russians were out looking for Donnie in order to put a bullet in between his eyes along with some other safety issues. Donnie was not returning to Graceland and as such a new agent had moved into the house and clearly more 'new' than Ava was expecting. The was no doubt green which meant watching Briggs potty train the new guy and break him in was going to be hilarious to watch.

"Great, just what we need another G-Man." Ava sarcastically quipped as she took Mike's hand and shook it, more than ever it seemed like the feds were taking over the house. Already they had Briggs, Johnny and Charlie but with Mike now here there was now four feds, then Paige and Lauren who were DEA then lastly there was Jakes who was customs and Ava was ATF. Clearly the bureau had moved pretty quickly in order to get another one of their guys into the house before any other agency could ponder the idea of getting another one of their own in. But Ava saw no point in dwelling in it as what was done was done, no point in getting upset over anything although Ava would miss Donnie. But they all knew that they were in a very dangerous lines of work and that they couldn't remain at Graceland forever, everyday could be their last.

"Ava Murphy, ATF."

"Your ATF?" Mike questioned and the surprise on his face was as clear as day and Ava watched as Mike continued to look at her as Ava did not look like a typical ATF agent and it wasn't the tank top or cut off shorts. It was the hair, specially the dyed hair that was a very pastel pink which was starting to fade as Ava's blonde roots were starting to come through. But none the less Ava's hair was pretty much pink. Mike's questioning over Ava's credentials given she looked the furthest thing from an ATF agent caused everyone to laugh and Ava couldn't help but smirk.

"Let me guess… I look more like your typical boho flower child who looks like their off their head on LSD most of the time playing with the fairies instead of an ATF agent?" Ava questioned and Mike slowly nodded. "Well that's the point, I can't look like I'm ATF and nobody would ever suspect somebody who looks the way I do of being a federal agent or having anything to do with firearms or explosives. It actually helps with my cover and so ATF look the other way about my ever changing hair, the people I deal with trust me more because I don't look like a cop or your common day criminal which means I can fly under the rador do my business and my job more better without raising any suspicions." Ava explained as whilst she looked the furthest thing from being a federal agent, Ava took her job very seriously. It was the only thing that Ava had in her life, she had no family and the only real friends she really had all lived in this house. Her job was her livelihood and the only thing that she really knew.

"Levi, you could learn a lot from Cammie over here. She may not look it but this girl is one smooth operator when it comes to undercover work. We often joke that she's more often comfortable pretending to be other people then she is being herself. Sometimes I think that she's in the wrong line of work and should have been one of those fancy actresses on the big screen." Briggs stated as he pointed over at Ava, referring to her yet again by the personal nickname that was on and off used for her by everyone at Graceland.

"New guy already scored a nickname? That was quick." Ava couldn't help but point out.

"Well the world doesn't stop just because you go off the radar for an operation, the rest of us still have jobs to do as well. Not everything here is about helping you and the rest of ATF." Johnny retorted and Ava laughed before gently punching him in the arm, she had missed this whilst she had been gone. All of them being here and from different agencies working together without the red tape crap that came when their agencies tried to work together. Not to mention they got a long pretty well and had a lot of fun down here in Graceland, it was certainly the best assignment to have and a lot better than having to go into an office every morning. Ava knew she couldn't stay at Graceland forever but she was certainly savoring her time here as what happened to Donnie showed, that one wrong move could have you out of the house.

"So what's the story with your nickname Ava?" Mike questioned.

"Cammie? Well I was being called that before there was an actually story to go behind it, but Cammie is short for chameleon because I have no problem with switching between cover stories and alias' at a moments notice especially with languages. Briggs was the one who started that off and then there was this case involving me and a camaro and that's where the nickname Cammie really stuck." Ava revealed giving a vague explanation to the backstory to her nickname as she was too tired to go into that story right now.

"So what happened with you and this camaro?" Mike asked, clearly wanting to know the full story and the looks of bemusement that Johnny and Charlie were sharing with each other wasn't helping with that. Ava opened her mouth to give an excuse but instead a yawn came out, giving her a perfect reason to escape this conversation.

"That story will have to wait for another time Mike as my bed is clearly calling for me as the wicked are only allowed so much sleep." Ava replied avoiding the nickname story in it's entirety as she bid goodbye to her roommates and left the kitchen and headed towards the staircase so she could make her way up the stair. Before she attempted to make the journey to her bedroom, Ava made the smart decision to take off her shoes as her feet were practically numb at this point. Slowly Ava ventured up the stairs hoping that her heavy body and aching feet wouldn't give in when they were so close to her very much missed bed. Either Ava was exhausted or there seemed to be a lot more stairs then she had previously remembered but Ava believed that it was the former and not the latter. Eventually Ava reached the top of the staircase, grateful that she was only a stone throw away from her bedroom and taking ten steps forward she was right in front of her bedroom door and placing her hand on the door handle.

"–Ava?"

Turning around Ava saw that Briggs was standing at the top of the staircase, standing where she herself had been less than thirty seconds ago. He clearly must need something for her if he was here and as much as Ava just wanted to go into her room and collapse onto her bed and dream of unicorns for the next few house. However if Briggs need her help with something that she would oblige as the whole point of them being here in Graceland was for them to all work together despite being from different agencies and sometimes time was of the essence. "Hey Briggs… What do you need?"

"Nah I'm good, don't worry about me Ava. I just wanted to know how you were doing, you good?" Briggs asked and whilst it seemed like an innocent enough question Ava knew that Briggs wasn't asking whether she was okay in general, he was asking whether she was okay after coming off this case which had required her to be in deep cover the majority of the time. Over the last two months Ava Murphy pretty much didn't exist, instead Ava had been Ava Byrne commonly know to her associates as A.B. she had gone back to Ava Murphy rather sporadically over the last two months when she had a brief reprieve from her over. In her line of work Ava had seen some things which could damage people but not her, Ava was a survivor and had been by herself and surviving on her own since the day she was born. Her job may be her livelihood but Ava wouldn't let it consume her to the point where she went down a dark road in which she could never return.

"I'm good."

"You sure?" Briggs questioned.

"Pretty sure, just need to catch up on some sleep as this case has been a long one but thanks for asking Paul. I appreciate it." Ava replied with a smile as it meant a lot that she had people who cared for her, worried about her well being as Ava had never had that when she was growing up. Back then all she had been was another kid in the system, another number and another paycheck. There had been no real family until now.

"Well I'll let you get some sleep, catch you later?"

"That you will."

"Night Ava."

"Morning Briggs." Ava quipped in tired bemusement as she opened her bedroom door but before she stepped inside Ava turned around one last time and found Briggs looking back at her with an amused grin and she smiled back and as she did, Ava couldn't help but think that it was good to be home.


	2. Chapter 2

Never underestimate the power of a good shower. That was one of the first things that Ava learnt in her early undercover days when she was doing some of her more murkier assignments which required her to blend in with some of the unsavory characters that lacked a high standard of personal hygiene which Ava had to befriend as part of her cover. It was all part of the job but Ava loved nothing better than shedding a cover and an alias by having a nice hot shower. So after a few hours sleep Ava felt better than ever, even more so after she took a nice long shower, instantly after she had woken up she had taken a nice long shower and instantly felt like Ava Murphy again. Being back home and able to sleep in her own bed and dress in her own clothes again was a very much welcomed relief to Ava as whilst she liked her work and could do with having numerous alias' sometimes she just liked being Ava. Glancing at her reflection in the mirror, Ava noted that she was going to have to redo her hair soon as her blonde roots were starting to come through and she wanted to nip it in the bud before it got any worse. Although Ava wasn't sure if she wanted to go back pink, maybe she would try another colour for a while. It made Ava wish that Paige was back already as the two of them always made a night of it when it came to dealing with Ava's hair. Eventually getting bored of looking at her reflection, Ava decided to head downstairs and find something to eat along with someone to talk to as she had missed her dynamic little family during her time away. Making her way downstairs, Ava headed to the kitchen and on her way there she ran into Lauren.

"Hey Ava! I heard you were home!" Lauren said in a warm manner as she gave Ava a brisk and brief hug. "I have to run as I've got some stuff to deal with on the case I'm currently working on but we'll catch up later, okay?"

Ava had barely time to blink let alone respond before Lauren was gone but she didn't give it much thought or take the encounter personally as she knew that it was part of the job. Sometimes there wasn't time for small talk as they would have to act on information as soon as they got it, so Ava just brushed the thing to the side as she wondered into the kitchen and found the new kid Mike, awkwardly standing in the kitchen. Putting two and two together Ava could venture as a guess that something had just gone on between Mike and Lauren, Ava had heard that her DEA counterpart wasn't too receptive to Mike coming into Graceland and moving into Donnie's room. "Lauren still giving you a hard time, huh?"

"No–" Mike began and Ava rolled her eyes, she knew that he was lying even before the words came out of his mouth. But Ava found it very noble of Mike to cover for Lauren, even if she wasn't being too receptive to him and pretty much was making him feel unwanted. For Ava that said a lot about Mike and his character.

"–Don't lie to me Levi. Rule number one; never lie to a woman armed with a gun." Ava instructed as even though Mike wasn't her probie and she wasn't his training agent, it didn't mean that she couldn't share her wisdom with him and teach him a few things to make him just a little less green. Mike would lose rest of his greenness eventually, that always come with field experience but Ava figured she could help him along with the way without having any responsibility over Mike.

"But your not armed, guns aren't allowed downstairs they have to be kept upstairs." Mike countered argued and Ava had to admit that she was liking Mike with every passing moment, he was quick as a whip and not much seemed to get past him. Ava was impressed, he may be green but Mike seemed to have some potential. It wasn't often that Ava had much of an opinion of a probie agent as she had no time for them, as babysitting them, wiping their noses and potty training them was not something she liked doing or had much patience for. But Mike seemed different, so Ava could give him a chance.

"Not bad slick, not bad at all." Ava quipped in amusement as she went over to one of the kitchen cupboards and began rooting through them until she emerged with a bag of chips. Judging by the flavor they were no doubt Johnny's and so Ava cracked them open and started to eat them, Ava knew better than to eat Jakes' stuff but she had no qualms about eating Johnny's food as he always ate hers when she was on a job. "So spill Mike, tell me what's the deal with Lauren as I can see there is some tension in the air."

"It's nothing. I get that she is upset about Donny and it's understandable." Mike said brushing the whole thing off.

"Look I would say don't take it personal but Lauren seems to be making it personal for no good reason. We all know why she's mad but she has no reason to be taking it out on you as it's not like you're the one who shot Donny. It was the Russians and his cover has been blown so he can't come back. Shit happens, we all know that. Don't get me wrong I liked Donny and I'll miss him but that is no reason to write you off. You didn't ask for this assignment, you were just sent here and you have a job to do just like the rest of us. We can't all stay here forever, agents come and go from Graceland and sentiment can't get in the way of that, we just have to adjust and carry on as we all have jobs to do." Ava idly commented as she had a more realistic view on things that went on here. Whilst Graceland was home to her, at the same time it wasn't home. This wasn't the place where she could always come home to. Eventually she would have to leave but that didn't mean that it didn't mean something to her as Graceland was the longest place that she had ever in, she had been here for three years. Before that Ava had never lived anywhere for longer than two years, the shortest time she had lived somewhere was four months. These people here were her family but the same time Ava was the lone wolf that she had always been. In the end she would eventually have to leave Graceland and she would be back on her own again, like many times before.

"You seem rather indifferent if you don't mind me saying."

Ava allowed herself to laugh before taking a handful of chips. "Not at all, as if we can't be honest with each other here then who can we be honest with? But I prefer aloof, it adds another layer of the mystery that is Ava Murphy."

"So I hear. I tried asking the other about you when you were asleep as I wanted to find out a bit more about the ATF agent with the pink hair and they didn't say much about you. There were some small things but general information like the fact that I should avoid you when it comes to playing cards as you will clean me out and then some when it comes to Texas hold 'em." Mike stated and Ava wasn't sure whether to be flattered that Mike had been asking the others about her but she would see whether this was going. She was pretty sure it was general curiosity about a new colleague. But if it wasn't then Ava would tread carefully around Mike.

"There's not much to tell really. I try to leave as little reputation behind me as I can for obvious reasons due to the nature of my work but enough so people can find me if they ever need me. But I do like dancing and drinking but that's all I'll say." Ava nonchalantly commented with a small shrug of her shoulder, given how she had grown up and being forced to only depend on herself Ava kept things close to the chest. Occasionally she threw her colleagues a tidbit of personal information about her life beyond work such as her past. Other than that Ava kept things to a general nature.

"Is it true that your real name isn't really Ava Murphy?" Mike questioned and Ava was surprised to be asked that question of all things, seemed to come out of the blue. "Um… Johnny mentioned it and he told me to ask you but I think he's pulling my leg again just like he did with Jakes' jucie."

Ava rolled her eyes, of course it was Johnny who had told Mike that. Now Mike asking her that question of all things made sense as Johnny was always meddling in something and he seemed to be doing some gently hazing of his new colleague. "Are we bonding Mike?"

"I think we are." Mike replied and Ava quietly laughed before picking up on how Mike was looking at her, he was still waiting for her to answer the question about her name. It didn't take long for Ava to figure out how to answer the question as her silence pretty much gave Mike his answer but Ava would tell him what she told the others whenever the subject about her real name come up.

"My name is Ava Murphy. But it hasn't always been that." Ava allowed herself to admit as the name that she had, the name that she had chosen for herself wasn't the name she was born with. But Ava had been Ava Murphy for a long time now and that's who she saw herself as being. The name that Ava previously had no longer mattered as it was in the past, the only thing that mattered to her was this life and this name. As when Ava had chosen her new name, it was like a promise that she had made to herself and one that she was intended on keeping. "Don't think about asking what my name used to be Mike as you won't get it, you will never get it out of me and even if I told you I'd have to kill you. Ask me no questions and I'll tell you no lies."

"I don't doubt that in the slightest Ava." Mike replied and Ava grinned, she really liked the new guy know as he was smart enough to know when to let things go. Ava reckoned she could get him to lighten up a bit once she got several beers down his neck. Ava hadn't seen his work in the field yet but he had survived his first case and Briggs hadn't given him the boot yet so Levi clearly had some potential.

""Look don't worry about Lauren, I'll deal with her and square things with her later as she's going to cause problems for us all if she keeps this thing up." Ava assured Mike as she remembered what it was like coming into Graceland and being the less experienced agent. Although Ava's arrival had been less bumpy and she hadn't been as green as Mike but he deserved a chance without being on the end of Lauren's temper.

"Thanks Ava… So if you won't tell me your real name then will you least tell me why your nickname Cammie has something to do with a camaro?" Mike questioned and Ava laughed, the probie seemed adamant about hearing this story and Ava couldn't blame him. As it was a pretty damn good story, not as good as Briggs' movie story but good enough.

"Nice try Levi! But your going to have to get at least four beers in me before I get into that story…"


End file.
